Guyana in must-win situation against Windwards tonight
… rain could hamper matches
HAVING lost their first-round match against one of their regional nemeses, Jamaica, defending West Indies Cricket Board (WICB) Twenty20 champions Guyana find themselves in a must-win situation when they take on the Windward Islands at the Kensington Oval from 20:00 h tonight.
But with the inclement weather which has been plaguing the island for the past 48 hours and threatening to do so today , Guyana’s task will be an uphill one, taking into consideration the run rate factor of their group to date, despite they are on top with eight points.
The Guyana team, minus West Indies dependable middle order batsman Shivnarine Chanderpaul who took a leave of absence  to return home to take care of personal business, had a match assimilation exercise at the LIME Cricket Club ground in Wildey under the watchful eyes of coach Rabindranauth Seeram and skipper Ramnaresh Sarwan.
In an invited comment with Chronicle Sport, Seeram looked back at the last win, which has so far been the highest successful run chase of this year’s tournament and said his team is using it as a motivational factor.
“Certainly, the last win wherein we got 170-odd will be used as a motivational factor to the guys, seeing that we have found ourselves in a must-win situation for this match which is our final preliminary round match, if we intend to make it to the final four, from where we will continue to take it one match at a time.”
Seeram was high in praise for his bowlers, whom he said have turned in sterling performances to date, while calling on his batsmen especially the top and middle order, to emulate the bowlers and turn in better performances.
“When you look at our batting lineup, certainly the scores we are getting from the top and middle order are not what is expected,” posited Seeram.
“We expect the batsmen to back each other up, wherein the middle order will offer support to the top order and the lower order doing their thing, but that has not been happening, as the top order has been failing to produce while the lower order has been called upon to offer support to both batting orders above them,” added Seeram.
He continued; “We have been working on some things in the nets in Antigua and will be doing so here in Barbados and what needs to be noted is after every game. The guys who have not produced knows what is required of them and hopefully, we will get that in this match which is an important fixture for us, seeing that we are in a must-win situation.”
The former national middle order batsman, who took over the reins of national coach from Albert Smith midway the 2009 season, said his team has a game plan and a total to which they plan to restrict the Windward Islands batting lineup.
“We know they have good quality players in the likes of Andre Fletcher, Devon Smith, Darren Sammy and to an extent Liam Sebastien and Rawle Lewis.
But once we stick to our game plan and bowl the ball in the right places during the overs which we ourselves have broken down into stages, then I don’t see why we cannot come out victorious especially if we are asked to get a total within the vicinity of 165 to 175 once again.”
Asked about Chanderpaul’s absence from the team, the coach was quick to point out he will be missed but he still believes his charges can perform the job minus the world-rated batsman.
“When we played our last game against Combined Campuses and Colleges (CCC), we did so with little contribution from Chanderpaul who is a famous player and can change things around on any given day, and we won, so I don’t see why we cannot repeat that performance against the Windward Islands, especially with what is at stake,” said Seeram.
With Chanderpaul out, room is left for either Steven Jacobs to be used in the middle order, or Richard Ramdeen being called upon to open the innings with either Travis Dowlin who looked sound in the nets and Sewnarine Chattergoon.
Sarwan, who Seeram said has been marshalling his troops well, especially after the humiliating first-round defeat, will be asked to bat at number three, with Royston Crandon, Jacobs, Christopher Barnwell and Jonathan Foo following in that order.
Based on his unbeaten 40 that was accumulated off 13 deliveries against CCC, wicketkeeper/batsman Derwin Christian will be asked to shore up the lower order with assistance from all-rounder Esaun Crandon and spin twins Devendra Bishoo and Veerasammy Permaul.
What will be of concern to Seeram and Sarwan is the bowlers for this encounter against a team whose batsmen  love the ball coming onto the bat.
This means that Permaul, as he has done throughout the tournament to date, will be asked to share the new ball with Esaun Crandon, with added support from Bishoo, Barnwell, Jacobs and Royston Crandon, with the death bowling being a major concern for Seeram.
“While our bowlers have turned in sterling performances to date, we still need to examine carefully, our bowling at the death of the opposition’s innings, as they have been conceding too many runs, especially when we are asked to bowl first, after the Jamaica encounter,” said Seeram.
The Windward Islands will be looking to Fletcher and Johnson Charles to give them a cameo start in comparison to what they got when they played CCC in their first match, where the pair added 68 for the first wicket from 8.1 overs.
That set the tone for Fletcher to free his arms and hit a whirlwind 88 off 59 deliveries, decorated with five fours and four sixes, while Keddy Lesporis and Sammy offered support in the latter overs with 34 and 18 respectively made off 27 and 5 deliveries each, which meant Smith was not called upon to flash his blade.
Added support in the batting department will come from Liam Sebastien, who is capable of destroying any regional bowling attack, whether he is asked to bat in the middle or lower order.
Their bowling will hinge around Sammy, Nelon Pascal, Gary Mathurin, Rawle Lewis, Mervin Matthew and Kenroy Peters, which makes this Group ‘A’ encounter a crucial one for the Guyanese, who once they make it to the final four, will have the services of Chanderpaul.